Employers ready to hire, and workers are ready to make a move

Planning on adding staff this year? A lot of companies are — and it looks like they’re going to have plenty of people to pick from. 

According to CareerBuilder’s recent Midyear U.S. Job Forecast, both employers and job seekers are feeling confident in their prospects these days.

Nearly half of employers surveyed plan to hire full-time, permanent staff over the next six months and one-third plan to hire temporary or contract workers – both improvements over 2014.

At the same time, workers are looking to take advantage of a labor market that has produced 245,000 jobs per month on average in the last year. Three in ten workers (29%) plan to change jobs in the next 12 months, up from 25% last year.

A breakdown of what companies have in mind for the second half of 2015:

• 49% of employers plan to hire full-time, permanent employees in the second half of 2015, up from 47% last year
• 28% plan to hire part-time employees in the second half of 2015, up from 27% last year, and
• 34% plan to hire temporary or contract workers in the second half of 2015, up from 33% last year.

Where the jobs will be

Information Technology (56%), health care (56%), hospitality (54%), financial services (52%), manufacturing (52%) and retail (50%) are among the industries expected to outperform the national average for full-time, permanent hiring in the back half of the year.

The top functional areas where employers will be adding jobs in the second half of 2015 include:

• Customer Service – 31% of hiring managers
• Sales – 23%
• Information Technology – 22%
• Production – 18%
• Accounting/Finance – 12%
• Marketing – 11%, and
• Human Resources – 9%.

Some of the in-demand areas employers will be recruiting for include those tied to mobile, search or cloud technology; cyber security; social media; wellness; financial regulation; managing and interpreting big data; content strategy for the Web; alternative energy sources and robotics.

Small Business Hiring

Hiring managers in small businesses are indicating a greater sense of confidence when it comes to recruitment plans. Hiring is expected to increase three percentage points over last year for companies with 50 or fewer employees.

Quick breakdown:

• 50 or fewer employees – 27% hiring full-time, permanent employees, up from 24% last year, and
• 250 or fewer employees – 37% hiring full-time, permanent employees, up from 35% last year.

Among with more than 500 employees, three in five hiring managers (62%) plan to add full-time, permanent employees, up from 61% last year.

Hiring By Region

The Northeast displayed the biggest increase in the percentage of employers planning to add full-time, permanent headcount in the second half of the year. Hiring in the other regions is expected to experience a slight shift or stay in line with last year.

The breakdown:

• Northeast – 52% hiring full-time, permanent employees, up from 48% last year
• South – 49% hiring full-time, permanent employees, up from 48% last year
• Midwest – 46% hiring full-time, permanent employees, on par with last year, and
• West – 46% hiring full-time, permanent employees, down from 47% last year.

Starting Salaries

Nearly half of employers (47%) expect to increase starting salaries on job offers over the next 12 months. Around 1 in 6 employers will raise starting salaries by 5% or more.